right-wing

Percentage of Canadians who place themselves along the middle of the political spectrum, according to an Environics survey of public opinion.

24%

Proportion of Canadians who self-identify as right-wing -- 10 percentage points higher than those who saw themselves on the political right in 2010. They're more likely to be male, in the top income bracket, and/or immigrant.

14%

Proportion of Canadians who self-identify as left-wing. They're more likely to be under 30, university-educated, and/or cite no religious affiliation.

I thought that Olivia Chow would make a great mayor and I was worried that Rob Ford could win, but I was also concerned about the anyone-but-Ford movement. We have seen a strong move to strategic voting in most of the last few elections but in this case it made absolutely no sense. We had an excellent candidate for mayor in Olivia and John Tory is a Tory, true blue. So why on earth would anyone progressive vote for him?

Don't

If you owned a local newspaper that was facing imminent destruction by a bunch of fascist zombies, would the looming attack influence your coverage?

I'd hope so.

If it were me, I would ensure that the newspaper had a steady stream of news about why the zombies needed to be stopped.

I would assume that people valued the newspaper and I wouldn't give space to fascist zombie apologists, or the fascist zombies themselves. I certainly wouldnt ask one of the zombies' most fascist philosophers to dress up like an average human and write an opinion piece.

OK, maybe this example is too obvious. What if the newspaper was going to be axed by the publisher, who also happened to be the town council?

While I realize it is churlish to take so much pleasure in the whining and whingeing of the usually arrogant right-wing pundits, I just can't help myself. This gaggle of ideological nut bars rarely get angry because most governments in this country have been doing their duty in dismantling the democratic, activist state for 25 years. They really thought that it was impossible -- due in part to their own pernicious influence -- that the idea of government actually working for people could rise from the ashes.

Don't

There's an Alfred E. Newman quality about Tim Hudak, and I say that with great affection, speaking as one of Mad magazine's early devotees. (My collection of vintage Mads perished in a cottage fire years ago.) The resemblance became clear on that subway ride that was cancelled because his aides lacked a permit, leaving Hudak grinning manically in the back of the shot -- and even then only after some genius added circus music to the footage and posted it on YouTube. He has to be saying, What, me worry?

Don't

Andrea Horwath has led Canada's NDP into a new era. They've floundered over an absence of clear principles for a long time, which has been true of formerly socialist and social democratic parties everywhere. It's been a hard run, with the zeitgeist firmly in their face. But they maintained a sense that, despite their own behaviour, they still believed they were in the grand old traditions. It may have been delusional but it was an honourable attempt to stay anchored. Horwath marks the change. She's a right-wing populist, full out.

In our day we have witnessed the elections of staunch right-wingers like Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. According to polls, they do not represent Canadian majority public opinion. Why then do they win political battles? One way is by taking advantage of crisis.

The Rob Ford debacle may be humiliating for most Canadians and Torontonians, but it also shows clearly how the Right manages to triumph frequently in the face of reason. Meanwhile, the Left is showing off its talent in grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.

It's incredible to most that a mayor who has done and said things that would make Homer Simpson blush has managed to maintain such amazing loyalty. Polling tells us his approval rating in "Ford Nation" is almost as strong as ever. It's not just the sympathy vote.

Don't

I'll miss Peter Worthington, Canada's archetypal right-wing journalist, who died this week at 86. I say that without irony or subtext. I'll just miss him. When we did public events together we were always positioned as left vs. right. But I couldn't conceal my delight at seeing him. CBC's Michael Enright, who hosted one panel, said: "Would you two stop acting like long-lost brothers?"

Don't

The CRTC could make us all pay for American-style right-wing media as part of our cable packages -- unless we stop them.

Quebecor created a "Fox News North" to model the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel is run by PM Harper's former top aide and so far it doesn't have enough of an audience to survive. But now it's applying to the CRTC to be forcibly added to all of our basic cable packages!